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It is anticipated that the global shortage of semiconductors may last up to another two years.  Yes you read that right, up to another TWO calendar years.

In January of this year, global semiconductor industry sales reached $40 billion, an increase of 13.2% over the same time in 2020.  Although chip manufacturers work overtime continue to produce semiconductors, the demand for devices that use them is reaching new heights and has already far outpaced the global supply.

The pandemic of the last 18 months has played a huge part in bringing this about.  As companies required their staff to work remotely, purchases of PC, Wireless Access points and other technology for home office use surged. Not surprisingly, people turned to new, chip-filled forms of entertainment to pass the time during weeks or months of lockdowns.  This ran the gambit from video game consoles to new DVRs to new televisions and even new smartphones.

The behavior of the Chinese government has not helped matters either.  There is evidence that Chinese technology companies have stockpiled chips and chip making equipment, especially when the Trump administration was still in power and implementing trade sanctions to balance trade between the United States and China.

“At some point, consumers will be affected by the chip crisis,” Ondrej Burkacky, McKinsey lead on semiconductors, told ZDNet. “The high noon season for consumer electronics are Q3 and Q4, and there might be shortages of several products during this time.”

PC manufacturers have suffered from significant supply chain issues for the last several months. Although record sales were reported in 2020, it is estimated that those numbers could have been higher had components been available.

Businesses are expected to be impacted significantly more than consumers, since they buy technology at a much larger scale.  Companies do not simply buy a single PC, but often hundreds or even thousands at a time.  Additionally networking products such as datacenter core switching, edge switching and wireless access points shipments are being delayed by weeks and months from leading networking manufacturers such as Extreme Networks, HPE/Aruba, Cisco and Juniper.

The global chip shortage is also impacting consumer electronics such as refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, dryers and more.  Even toys and common appliances such as lights, electronic soap dispensers, vacuum sealers and stereo gear are going to experience the impact.

The trickle down from all of this is affecting other areas such as homebuilders and contractors staying on schedule building homes, the buyers of those homes being able to close on time and locking in their interest rates.

The automotive industry is also being impacted.  Used car values have skyrocketed as new car dealers struggle to keep their manufacturing on pace to expected norms.  Manufacturers have had to idle entire plant facilities because of the shortage of core silicone chips for the vehicles electronic components.   The idling of these plants in turn impacts suppliers of steel and other commodities to those plants.

It is estimated by industry analysts such as Forrester that the shortage and resulting supply chain impacts could last for another couple of years.

Leading chip manufacturers such as Intel have had existing manufacturing plants working overtime, along with building new facilities to attempt to keep up with the demand.  However building the new plants will of course take time, factoring into the two year shortage forecasts.  Consumers used to near instant gratification with shopping online and in stores are in for some disappointment in the coming months, as shortages are expected to last through next year.

JBS says meatpacking operations will be back to normal Wednesday after a ransomware attack over the weekend.

• JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, says it’s getting back online after a cyber attack.
• The attack, believed to have originated in Russia, disrupted plants in the US and Canada.
• Late on Tuesday, the company said its production should be back to normal on Wednesday.

Meatpacking operations are returning to normal Wednesday at JBS plants across the US and Canada, after a ransomware attack over the weekend against the world’s largest meat processor’s IT infrastructure, the company said.

“Given the progress our IT professionals and plant teams have made in the last 24 hours, the vast majority of our beef, pork, poultry and prepared foods plants will be operational tomorrow,” JBS USA CEO Andre Nogueira said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The attack on the Brazil-based company is thought to have originated from a criminal organization based in Russia, the White House said, and the FBI is investigating.

JBS is responsible for about one-fifth of all US beef and pork processing capacity, and the disruption yesterday caused the US Department of Agriculture to delay the release of its daily price report. Bloomberg noted that excluding JBS’s data from the report could reveal proprietary information about its competitors.

In its statement on Tuesday, JBS said it was able to sell and ship product from nearly all of its North American facilities, and that it was not aware of any customer, supplier or employee data being compromised in the attack.

Livestock industry analysts did say that even a single day of disrupted supply could significantly impact the beef market, which is already seeing a trend of rising prices.

Last month, the cyber gang Dark Side executed a similar attack against the Colonial Pipeline, leading the fuel company to shut off its supply, leading to gasoline shortages across the southeast. The company ended up paying a ransom worth $4.4 million in bitcoin to the hackers.

The issue is getting rapidly larger with the rise of various cryptocurrencies. A recent study estimated that in 2020, more than $350 million worth of cryptocurrency was paid to hackers by victims of ransomware attacks, nearly four times the amount in 2019.

The Importance of a Cloud First Mindset
At Enterprise Systems, we’re proud advocates for cloud computing. And, for good reason. Although we may come off as somewhat biased, we believe the cloud is an effective way to create flexibility and streamline processes, as well as offload some of the unnecessary burden plaguing your IT team. Developing a proper cloud-first mindset does not mean you have to limit all other options. It simply means that you’re aware of all avenues and capable of choosing the best one to fit the unique needs and circumstances of your business.

So, what exactly is a “cloud-first mindset” anyway? The concept of a cloud-first mindset simply means that your business considers the cloud first before any other means. In order to develop a cloud-first mindset, you need to rethink your business’ current way of doing things and think of the cloud as the new normal. It’s important to remember that while hardware-based solutions are still always an option, they should be chosen strategically and only if they are truly the best way to meet goals and overcome challenges for your business.

Here are some of the benefits of adopting a cloud-first mindset:

Financially Beneficial
First and foremost, cloud processes are typically more cost efficient which in return, leads cloud-first enterprises to experience the financial benefits more than a business who only chooses cloud solutions on occasion. Because many services, tasks and applications are now available in the cloud, the cloud-first mindset sets businesses up for success and can save them a lot of money in the long run.

Transitioning to the cloud may initially seem like a daunting and costly task, however, it is important to note that building, managing, and scaling on-premises hardware and software requires investing a lot of time, planning and resources. Plus, you must take into account that hardware requires updates and replacements over time which can be quite costly.

Greater Scalability
As your business grows over time, so will its data volumes and other important information. A cloud-first mindset is extremely handy in a situation like this, as it allows you to scale gradually and strategically. Businesses who do not choose the cloud in a circumstance like this may risk major expenses and time investments. This is typically because they are not prepared for the growth of their organization and are forced to make last minute decisions to keep their operations running smoothly. Being prepared for the scalability of your business before it happens will not only reduce costs, but it will also minimize stress as well.

Improved Productivity
One of the most satisfying benefits of utilizing the cloud is its ability to improve your productivity levels within various areas of your business. With all the extra time the cloud is saving you, you can focus on truly growing your organization and plan for its future. Here are a few ways having a cloud-first mindset can improve your productivity:
• Minimizes the traditional data center expenditure
• Reduces the time required for data analysis
• Streamlines business management systems across departments
• Simplifies the overall communication and collaboration

Better Security and Data Recovery
Did you know that data breaches are usually a result of human error, outdated software, or faulty equipment? That is just another reason why choosing the cloud when establishing new processes or reviewing existing ones is a great option to consider for the future of your business. Enterprise Systems offers numerous options for identifying and preventing data breaches, so you never have to worry about the lack of efficient data recovery. With cloud solutions, you can avoid cyber threats more easily and recover data fast.

Should You Adopt a Cloud-First Strategy in 2021?
You probably already know the answer by now but just to clarify – yes! The cloud has become increasingly popular over the past few years and has freed many organizations from costly and inefficient solutions. And, you don’t have to move all of your data and processes to the cloud at once. Another benefit of the cloud is that it can be easily tailored to your needs and timeline. So, when planning for the future of your business, think cloud solutions first.

About Enterprise Systems
Enterprise Systems is a systems integrator with headquarters in Houston and branch offices in Charlotte and New Orleans. Enterprise Systems provides managed services and IT support nationwide, including Houston, Charlotte and New Orleans for premise and cloud-based voice and data networks. Whether a startup or established business; Enterprise Systems provides you with experienced, full-service support. We offer phone system solutions in Houston for businesses of all sizes.
We offer a helping hand to firms who are looking for experience and competency from an IT Company. Enterprise Systems provides service and support in an IT space that is becoming more crowded every day with competition. What sets apart Enterprise Systems from competitors nationwide including Houston, Charlotte and New Orleans is personalized service. We are large enough to maintain top tier authorizations from leading manufacturers and provide service and support to global end customers, but small enough that you are not a number in a call center somewhere.

5 Tips for Successful Remote Workforce IT Management

An unprecedented crisis is gripping the world today. At the time of this writing, hundreds of thousands are battling a new disease while billions have had to put their normal lives on hold to mitigate the damage COVID-19 could cause. Economies globally are in peril, and businesses are taking immediate steps to flatten out the curve of the impact of this virus. Some have shut a major chunk of their operations while others are leveraging the technology at their disposal and allowing, or even requiring, employees to work remotely.

While switching to a remote workforce is a welcome move, it brings with it a slew of challenges, the biggest being the need to ensure business continuity with minimal loss of productivity. Technology makes this transition feasible; however, given the unexpected magnitude of the situation, transitioning to a remote workforce on a dime has likely caught many businesses off guard, especially small and midsize businesses. It goes without saying that their IT teams and infrastructure are being put to the test during these trying times.

To ensure your business makes it through these turbulent times relatively unscathed, here are five tips to help you manage your remote workforce.

1. Use an endpoint management solution for remote monitoring and management
Now that all of your users are working from home, you need a way to efficiently manage those remote devices. Look for an endpoint management solution that provides remote monitoring and remote control of remote and off-network endpoints. This way your IT team can easily and efficiently access any of these endpoints to troubleshoot issues and maintain uptime.

Endpoint management tools can provide access to these devices without interrupting the user so IT technicians can work behind the scenes. This keeps employee productivity high while allowing the IT team to get things done.

2. Automate many routine IT management tasks
Managing endpoints on a regular basis can be quite a task, especially when you have many manual IT processes. Now, imagine doing that when almost all endpoints of your business have become remote, and none of them can afford to have any downtime. Very few organizations would be capable of handling such a situation smoothly and efficiently using manual processes. Look for an endpoint management solution that allows you to automate many common IT tasks by executing scripts on each endpoint. This will reduce the stress and burden on your IT team in this time of increased workloads.

3. Have a reliable backup and disaster recovery strategy
With the current pandemic creating chaos for everyone, the last thing you should be worrying about is your backup systems. Your backup systems should provide reliable, enterprise-class business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). Reduce downtime with instant recovery, ransomware detection, and automated disaster recovery testing. An appliance-based DRaaS solution can be integrated into your endpoint management tool, allowing you to manage backups from the same console. Meet the backup demands of the business while using a workflow that is familiar. This will ensure your business data remains safe from any unexpected incidents of data loss or downtime.

4. Back up your SaaS data
Many organizations are now using a number of different Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, such as Microsoft Office 365, Google G Suite and Salesforce, to enable a more mobile and distributed workforce. With this shift to SaaS applications comes the need to have a backup solution that will protect all of your SaaS app data. A loss of this data could really slow down your business at a time when efficiency and productivity are more critical than ever.

5. Protect against a likely increase in cyberattacks
It is especially during a crisis, such as the pandemic the world is facing now, that cybercriminals work double-time to exploit vulnerabilities that can harm your business. These attacks could take place by accessing your compromised credentials on the Dark Web or by orchestrating sophisticated phishing attacks. With the lines between working from home and office blurring, a thorough security assessment, including Dark Web monitoring, should become a priority.

As you look at implementing these steps, you might want to consider a comprehensive IT management solution stack that ticks all these boxes and more. Having disjointed solutions would only add to the trouble, requiring additional effort at a time when your workforce is already being pushed to the limit.

Sailing through these troubled waters isn’t going to be easy, but with the right approach and tools, your business can certainly come out on top when the dust has settled.

ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS

EXTENDED CYBER SECURITY SOFTWARE AND SERVICES

Today’s Cyber Threat Landscape requires an Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy that is multi-layered to provide protection from your network’s edge to the core. In addition to our Fortinet Cyber security partnership, our Cyber Security portfolio enables us to help you identify exploited corporate user credentials, lock down your endpoints with AV/AM software, manage passwords, protect mobile users and even protect the data itself with ransomware –proof data storage. Many of these security solutions are available as on premise or 24×7 managed services.

State and Local Government agencies, Higher Ed and K12 can acquire many of these products and services through our Texas DIR (*), TIPS (**) and BuyBoard Commodity Contracts. Our Cyber Security portfolio includes:

Dedicated Managed Security Services

DarkWeb ID – Dark Web Monitoring Services (**)

This award-winning service combines human and sophisticated Dark Web intelligence with search capabilities to proactively monitor the dark Web, 24×7, for an organization’s compromised or stolen employee and customer data. It quickly alerts you to exploited data so that you can quickly act to remediate current passwords or delete old passwords still connected.to your supply chain and helps meet data governance reporting requirements. Additional services are available for employee anti-phishing training and synthetic phishing attacks to test employee awareness and adoption of anti-phishing policies.

Alert Logic Security Operations Monitoring Services (**)

Alert Logic’s 24×7 SOC provides SIEM, Security Operations Center and Governance services as a service. Its technicians continually monitor your network for vulnerabilities, correlate logs for incident root cause definition and guide your team in problem remediation. In addition, it provides your staff with vital reports to prove your companies compliance with the key government regulations applicable to your company.

Endpoint Security Products

PC Matic Pro Endpoint Suite (**)

Traditional blacklist based endpoint protection depends upon identified threat list and threat signatures. This makes your network vulnerable to new Day Zero cyber threats that have not been identified and protections published. PC Matic Pro Endpoint Suite uses a unique whitelist technology to blocks all unwanted and unsafe programs from executing, keeping your endpoints safer and more reliable. Its SuperShield feature uses advanced heuristics to prevent script-based attacks from leveraging known good windows scripting hosts. Built-in features patch management and driver updates assure the latest application protection against vulnerabilities and keep endpoints running at peak performance to prevent a loss in efficiency.

TrendMicro Endpoint Security Products (**)

In an evolving technological landscape, you need security that goes beyond traditional antivirus. Trend Micro Apex One™ protection offers advanced automated threat detection and response against an ever-growing variety of threats, including fileless and ransomware. Its cross-generational blend of modern techniques provides highly tuned endpoint protection that maximizes performance and protection effectiveness. It offers threat detection, response, and investigation within a single agent to eliminate multiple vendors and consoles and gain deployment flexibility through both SaaS and on-premises deployment options.

Password Management Tools:

Thycotic Secret Server (*, **)

Discover, manage, protect, and audit privileged account access across your organization. As cyber threats continue to increase in volume and sophistication, effective and agile, Privileged Account Management (PAM) has become mission-critical for organizations of every size. Now you can adopt an aggressive privileged account security posture with Secret Server, our enterprise-grade PAM solution available both on premise and in the cloud. Empower your security and IT ops teams to secure and manage all types of privileged accounts quickly and easily.

Thycotic Privilege Manager (*, **)

86% of breaches involve compromised endpoints. They are the most common entry point for threats and your largest attack surface. Companies spend billions on cyber security, yet hackers and disgruntled employees continue breaching systems. Thycotic’s Privilege Manager empowers you to implement a least privilege security posture and implement application control on endpoints, minimizing risks caused by cyber attacks – without disrupting end-users. The executables for unapproved applications, including ransomware and other malware are blocked from operating because they are not listed as approved application son your managed endpoints.

Thycotic Account LifeCycle Manager – Service Account Governance (*, **)

Service accounts abound in every organization and failure to manage them leads to significant risk. These specialized non-human accounts are used by applications or other services to access data and network resources for specific tasks. Because of their “set it and forget it” operation and limited human interaction, service accounts often fly under IT’s radar and rarely get inventoried and controlled. This lack of governance makes service accounts the ideal target for cyber criminals. Thycotic’s Account Lifecycle Manager enables service account governance by automating the lifecycle of service accounts, from workflow-based provisioning to account decommissioning.

Thycotic DevOps Secrets Management (*, **)

Rapid, iterative DevOps workflows often expose many security vulnerabilities directly tied to privilege management. Every container, server, and application can have privileged access, dramatically expanding the attack surface for intruders looking for an entry point, and the growth of robotic process automation (RPA) further expands those entry points. It’s difficult to balance high-speed, dynamic DevOps practices and RPA deployments with necessary security policies. Thycotic’s DevOps Secrets Vault automates secrets management to provide DevOps teams the speed and agility needed to stay productive without sacrificing security.

WatchGuard Authpoint Multifactor Authentication (*, **)

WatchGuard’s AuthPoint service is the right solution at the right time to provide effective authentication on an easy-to-use Cloud platform. MFA provides the strongest approach to user identification – requiring users to supply information they know, with information provided on something they have, to positively identify a specific person. With a simple push notification, the AuthPoint mobile app makes each login attempt visible, allowing the user to accept or block access right from their smartphone.

WatchGuard DNSWatchGo -DNS-Level Protection for Users on the Go (*,**)

Whether working from a home office, coffee shop, or conference hotel room, the modern employee relishes the opportunity to be productive where they feel most comfortable. Today, three-quarters of global employees work remotely at least one day a week. As a result, more and more of your business is being conducted off-network, and outside of your traditional security tools. WatchGuard DNSWatchGO provides DNS-level protection and content filtering that keeps your business safe from phishing, ransomware, and other attacks even when your user is outside of the network, without requiring a VPN.

StorageCraft ShadowProtect – Server Replication Software (**)

Like disasters, IT environments are anything but standard. That’s why businesses need a single cross-platform solution that protects a mixed, hybrid environment. ShadowProtect® backup and disaster recovery software ensures on-prem business systems and data are fully protected and always available. ShadowProtect enables you to meet or beat your recovery time and recovery point objectives (RTOs and RPOs). In the event of a server failure or ransomware infection, ShadowProtect enables you to restore server files and folders in minutes by using its patented VirtualBoot technology to instantly boot a backup image into a virtual machine and continue working in a matter of minutes. Then when healthy server hardware is available, ShadowProtect facilitates a bare metal restoration.